What are the best public golf courses in Naples, Florida?

An introduction to Naples

In this blog post, we’re going to take a look at some of the best public golf courses in Naples.

On the southwestern coast of Florida, overlooking the gorgeous Gulf of Mexico, this is a destination home to some of the greatest golf courses in Florida. But unfortunately many of those are private and member-only.

So the whole essence of this series of blog posts, is to highlight some of the best golf courses that are open to the public, and can be enjoyed without having to know or befriend a member.

With so many tourists visiting Naples annually, this knowledge of the best public golf facilities is key! Let’s dive into them.

See also: What are the best private golf courses in Naples?

List of the best public golf courses in Naples Florida

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1. Old Corkscrew Golf Club

This is a superb Jack Nicklaus ‘signature’ course that is tucked away between Fort Myers and Naples. To be precise, Old Corkscrew is about 45 minutes’ drive from downtown Naples, and the drive is worth it!

Slightly more inland compared to many on this list, this Audubon Certified location is serene.

There is an abundance of native Florida vegetation. Beautiful cypress trees as well as oaks and pines accompany most fairways, as does prairie grass. And being situated within native Florida wetlands, expect water and lots of it.

A truly wonderful facility, this is one of these places where golf and nature blend seamlessly together and wildlife is thriving here. Likewise, there is also not a single residential plot surrounding the course, a rarity in Florida state. 

As for the course, well quite simply it’s a beast. It is so tough to score well here, members claim playing bogey golf is as good an outcome as you’re going to get.

Narrow fairways, treacherous out-of-bounds, long….this is a course for decent golfers. From the back tees, the yardage spreads to 7,400. But I would only advise this if you’re a single figure handicap.

As one of the finest, if not the best public golf facility near Naples, expect to pay a handsome rate to play here. But it is definitely worth it.

2. Tiburon Golf Club (Black Course & Gold Course)

This epic golf club is without doubt one of the finest on the Naples coastline. 

Less than a 5 minute drive from the coast and around 15 minutes from downtown Naples, there are plenty of quality golf courses to choose from. But Tiburon Golf Club is without doubt one of the best public golf facilities on offer in this area. 

There are 36 holes of golf available onsite, made up of the Black and the Gold courses. Both of these were designed by the legendary Greg Norman around the turn of the century. 

Recognised as an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary, both courses play through a verdant oasis of vegetation. This is a serene and blissful backdrop to your round.

The Black course is considered the better of the two and opened for play in 2001. The fairways weave through native Florida foliage and pines, whilst leading up to wide undulating greens. 

The bunkers are divine, stacked sod walls which you don’t get many of round this way. Instead of dense rough, loose shots will either stray into the crushed coquina waste areas lining most fairways, or of course be wet.

In fact water comes into play on nearly every hole here so bring plenty of balls.

Being honest, there is very little that separates the two courses. To say the Gold Course is inferior to the Black Course really does it a discredit. And these things are so subjective.

But as with the Black Course having hosted the Chubb Classic, the Gold Course has had its fair share of major tournament exposure. Home to the LPGA Tour’s CME Group Tour Championship and others, it is also highly ranked amongst all major golf publications.

This is top class championship golf and one of the first places to stop if looking for the best public golf courses around Naples. 

See also: What are the best golf public golf courses in Fort Myers?

3. TPC Treviso Bay

This time we move on to the magnificent TPC Treviso Bay.

This is a semi-private course with members’ only access from November through to the end of April. But during the summer months, guest tee times are permitted 7 days in advance. Trust me, you’ll want to get in on the act here!

Treviso Bay was designed by the world-famous Arthur Hills. Throughout the course of his career, he was involved in nearly 275 course renovations and designs.

Along this journey, he was ably assisted by none other than Hal Sutton, who in his playing heyday won 14 times on the PGA Tour. 

From the back tees, TPC Treviso Bay stretches out to well over 7,300 yards. This is a layout where accuracy off the tee is paramount. Fairways are gently contoured with lakes an ever-present hazard. Throughout the 118 acres, water will be making up a fair percentage of it!

The conditioning is also second-to-none, with carpet like fairways and beautifully manicured greens.

Large white sand bunkers are also a constant threat and are strategically placed protecting most greens. Even the vegetation and run-off areas are pristine!

This is a wonderful course where you get to experience being a member for a day. Not cheap but conversely, great value.

5. Arrowhead Golf Course

Within a 25 minute drive from Naples, Arrowhead is an immensely popular choice for visitors looking for public golf courses near Naples.

The course opened for play in 1997 and over the years it has been recognised time and time again.

The South West Florida Choice Awards have consistently recognised Arrowhead Golf Course as being the ‘Best Public Golf Course’ in Naples, and you can see why.

The layout is challenging with sculpted fairways and large contoured greens, well protected by pristine white sand bunkers.

There are occasions where the landing areas are relatively open. But as to be expected for a Florida course, expect plenty of water. In fact there are 16 lakes dotted around the course!

Needless to say for such a highly praised facility, it is in great condition.

The atmosphere is friendly and not in the slightest bit pretentious. And the Pub is a great place to relax post-round with whatever drink takes your fancy.

6. Valencia Golf & Country Club

Towards the neighborhood of Orangetree to the east of Naples, is the popular Valencia Golf & Country Club.

The club opened in 1997 and constantly features in any discussions of the best public golf courses around Naples.

It was originally designed by Gordon Lewis and as recently as 2018 the course enjoyed a major renovation. This particular project was overseen by Drew Rodgers, a man whose credentials were crafted working hand-in-hand with the famous course architect Arthur Hills. 

Valencia Golf & Country Club is immensely popular due to the fact it is enjoyable for all levels. With five sets of tees on each hole, it is genuinely playable for higher handicaps, although at times this can slow the pace of play slightly. 

The fairways were re-turfed with Celebration Bermuda grass and are generally wide and generous. Yet the greens are rapid, so make sure you have your putting game with you.

See also: What are the best golf courses in Sarasota, Florida?

7. Lely Resort (Mustang Course & Flamingo Course)

There aren’t many golf resorts in Florida which offer 3 or more championship golf courses, but Lely Resort is one of them.

There are 54-holes of golf onsite with each course designed by one of the most recognised names in golf. 

Two of the courses are open to the public, the Robert Trent Jones Sr. designed Flamingo Island and the Lee Trevino routed Mustang Course.

The last 18-holes is the exclusive and private Classics Course, which was designed by none other than Gary Player. 

The resort gets decent coverage with the Classics Course regularly hosting the Chubb Classic, which features a number of past Champions and Hall of Fame members.

Flamingo Island is one of Naples’ signature public golf courses and is without doubt one of the finest. From the back tees the course measures just shy of 7,100 yards opening out onto sculpted hourglass fairways and large undulating greens. 

There is a constant backdrop and lurking hazards of water. Far more so than the Mustang Course, which was routed through the stunning South Florida marshlands. That said, there are still twelve significant lakes coming into play, but it is less prevalent than Flamingo Island.

Both courses are immensely playable, and open to golfers of all abilities. This offers the perfect introduction to Florida golf!

8. Hibiscus Golf Club

Literally minutes away from downtown Naples, just down the Tamiami Trail eastern highway, is Hibiscus Golf Club. 

This wonderful public course has been around since the late 60s, opening in 1969 to be precise.

The course was designed by Dave Wallace, an architect whose work was largely Florida based. This is a man with plenty of experience working with the Florida marshlands.

The course is immensely playable and definitely one for mid to higher handicaps. There are wide fairways, well protected greens and of course a lot of water.

Numerous lakes can be found flanking fairways, there are lakes to carry to reach the green and streams lurking out of sight, but very much in play! We really shouldn’t be surprised there is so much water in play!

In 2007 the course enjoyed a major makeover following substantial investment. This has firmly positioning Hibiscus Golf Club as one of the better public golf courses in Naples. 

See also: What is the best city for golf in Florida?

9. Panther Run Golf Club

Just under an hour’s drive from Naples going east, inland towards the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, is the superb Panther Run Golf Club.

First and foremost the site here is immaculate, with both course and ground conditioning clearly a major focus.

The location is in the heart of what was once expansive territory of the Florida panthers and the preservation of the environment is kept at a premium. 

The 18-hole championship course was immaculately designed by the Del Webb group, who were responsible for building the master planned community which surrounds the course.

As for the design, from the back tees the course stretches to a whopping 7,500+ yards!

It might then worry you to know there is water surrounding pretty much every hole. Although fortunately the fairways are plenty wide and on many holes the water really shouldn’t come into play. This might be a good thing considering how many gators will be lurking there.

Yes it is out of town. But because of that, it is superb value compared to many other Naples public golf courses. 

10. Saltleaf Golf Preserve (formerly Raptor Bay Golf Club)

I’m pushing the boundaries slightly here including Saltleaf Golf Preserve. Many would argue it is closer to Fort Myers than it is Naples. But I’m going to include it in this post because there is enough ambiguity and it is worthy of its position. 

The club is around 40 minutes drive up the coast from Naples, past Bonita Springs and overlooking Estero Bay. This is a blissful location far away from the stress and noise of modern life.

The course was designed by Raymond Floyd, the immensely successful pro-golfer. When it comes to golf course design, his philosophy is simple; ‘golf courses should challenge every type of player, yet remain enjoyable’. 

Here at Saltleaf Golf Preserve, formerly called Raptor Bay Golf Club, he’s hit the nail on the head.

The course has five sets of tees on every hole, meaning golfers of all levels can enjoy it. There has been incredible attention to detail to ensure the fairways blend seamlessly with the surrounding environment, rather than force their way through.

There are no residential properties surrounding the course, which again enhances the feeling of being at one with nature. This is well worth the drive up the coast.

See also: What are the best golf courses on the Florida Keys?

What is the best public golf course in Naples, Florida?

The best public golf course near Naples, Florida, is Old Corkscrew Golf Club. The course is located in Estero, between Naples and Fort Myers. It was designed by Jack Nicklaus and is a certified Audubon International Signature Sanctuary.